Monday, May 30, 2016

Digitally remastered two CD set containing a pair of albums from the
legendary guitarist and Mahavishnu Orchestra leader: Electric Guitarist
and Electric Dreams (both released in 1979). Ex-Graham Bond and Brian
Auger guitarist McLaughlin's career took off when he went to the States
in 1969 to join Tony Williams' Lifetime. From then on, he became one of
the most acclaimed Jazz/Rock guitarists of the '70s and beyond.

Since both of these post-Shakti albums feature the word "electric" in their titles, it seems that guitarist McLaughlin
wanted to emphasize his more plugged-in side to those who might not
have followed along on three previous releases featuring his acoustic
world music band. He also thumbs through his impressive phone book to
call in some of the cream of the 1977 crop of jazz fusionists to help
him out on Electric Guitarist, a true return to form. Ex-Mahavishnu members Jerry Goodman and Billy Cobham
assist in kicking things off just like in the old days with "New York
on My Mind," a tune that could have been an outtake from his earlier Mahavishnu Orchestra work. Also along for the ride is Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, David Sanborn, Carlos Santana, Jack Bruce, and four legendary drummers including Cobham, Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, and Narada Michael Walden.
Unfortunately, the credits don't specify who plays on which track
(well-written liner notes would help there), but anyone familiar with
the distinctive styles of these artists can easily pick them out. McLaughlin
is in fine form throughout, especially when playing clean, staccato,
bent notes on the ballad "Every Tear from Every Eye." The majority of
the selections stay in a more subtle but amped-up groove as McLaughlin
shifts from dreamy to a faster, more straight-ahead tempo on the
seven-minute "Do You Hear the Voices that You Left Behind?" A duet with Billy Cobham
on "Phenomenon: Compulsion" provides the set's most frantic fireworks
as both musicians air out their chops on a breathless, galloping piece
with some of the guitarist's most furious picking. Electric Dreams features McLaughlin's One Truth
band on an album from the same year. The same players back him
throughout, so the sound isn't quite as diverse. There is still a nice
balance of ballads and burners, and some tunes that mix both such as
"Desire and the Comforter," which is pushed by Fernando Saunders' amplified fretless bass, a ringer for Jaco Pastorius. Saunders
takes the collection's only vocal on "Love and Understanding," undercut
by well-meaning but schlock-heavy lyrics about being one with the
universe as McLaughlin does his best Santana impersonation. The boat rights itself for the two final fusion numbers that find the group locking in and McLaughlin
spinning off sweet, sharp lines that leave no doubt as to how
exceptional a guitarist he is. BGO's remastering is clean and these
titles make perfect companions on a single disc with almost 80 minutes
of prime, very electric John McLaughlin music.

Track List:

01 New York In My Mind 02 Friendship 03 Every Tear From Every Eye 04 Do You Hear The Voices That You Left Behind? 05 Are You The One? Are You The One? 06 Phenomenon Compulsion 07 My Foolish Heart 08 Guardian Angels 09 Miles Davis 10 Electric Dreams 11 Electric Sighs 12 Desire And The Comforter 13 Love And Understanding 14 Singing Earth 15 The Dark Prince 16 The Unknown Dissident

John Mclaughlin - 1978 "Electric Guitarist"

If you listen to McLaughlin's version of "My Foolish Heart" from 1978's Johnny McLaughlin - Electric Guitarist,
it's hard to logically explain how the same guitarist had also produced
the sounds found on so many of his earlier records. It's hard to
reconcile this tune with his approach on his debut Extrapolation, Miles' Tribute to Jack Johnson, Larry Coryell's Spaces,
and various recordings by the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Shakti. None of
those earlier performances would have prepared you for McLaughlin's
beautiful treatment of Victor Young and Nat Washington's jazz standard.
His warm and serene arrangement sounds like the antithesis of what
McLaughlin was known for.

Electric Guitarist was meant
to be a comeback record for McLaughlin. Columbia Records was none too
pleased that McLaughlin had produced three straight records with his
Indian acoustic world music group Shakti. These records would eventually
reach legendary status, but at the time they sold embarrassingly
poorly. There was hope at Columbia that Electric Guitarist
would bring John McLaughlin back to the top of the record sales heap. In
the end, although it sold well, it did not sell as many records as
Columbia had hoped.

Electric Guitarist features many of
McLaughlin's contemporaries, including Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke,
Jack DeJohnette, Billy Cobham, Narada Michael Walden, Carlos Santana,
Jerry Goodman, and David Sanborn. There is not one weak cut on the
entire album. Electric Guitarist also marks the first recorded
use of McLaughlin's scalloped fretboard electric guitar, an idea from
his Shakti experience that gave him a brand new sound. McLaughlin was
able to bend notes and even chords beyond limits. This technique opened
up a whole new vocabulary for his compositions.

Key cuts to play
really loud include a duet with Billy Cobham, "Phenomenon-Compulsion,"
and "Are You the One? Are You the One?," featuring Tony Williams and
Jack Bruce. This tune harkens back to the great Tony Williams Lifetime
that featured McLaughlin, Bruce and the late Larry Young on organ. Even
though, for obvious reasons, Young couldn't make this gig, he would have
loved this tune. "Do You Hear The Voices You Left Behind," based upon
the changes of Coltrane's "Giant Steps," is an unrelenting jazz force
that McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Jack DeJohnette play
for all they are worth.

Many all-star recordings do not live up to their promise. This album is not one of them. John McLaughlin- Electric Guitarist was the last important recording of the initial jazz-fusion movement.

The last three minutes of "Desire and the Comforter" from Electric Dreams
say it all about John McLaughlin. He just tears apart his electric
guitar with cascades of funk, blues, rock, jazz, and Far-Eastern scales.
Every strike of a string has individual meaning. His guitar soars above
the chord changes and captures the spirit of the music. He leaves space
(or texture) where it should be left. Like no other guitarist on earth,
John McLaughlin knows when not to play, despite claims from those who
say he plays too many notes. And even though there are a million notes a
minute on this tune, the spaces in between the notes create the
epiphany.

McLaughlin recorded Electric Dreams with the
One Truth Band, which also included L. Shankar on violin, Tony Smith on
drums, Stu Goldberg on keyboards, Fernando Saunders on bass, and Alyrio
Lima handling various percussion duties. The OTB was a much more
rhythmic unit than JM's previous bands, and although its members may not
have been the "master" musicians like those who comprised The
Mahavishnu Orchestra, they certainly knew how to "funk a groove". Electric Dreams is full of such grooves and infectious tunes. Sure, we could have lived without the God-awful "Love and Understanding". But Electric Dreams
offers the beautiful "Electric Dreams, Electric Sighs", featuring JM on
banjo! The classic “Dark Prince” is a brooding, straight-ahead
jazz-fusion homage to Miles that overshadows the album’s other Miles
tribute piece, “Miles Davis."

On this recording, McLaughlin used a
guitar that had a scalloped fret board. The concave spaces allowed
McLaughlin to stretch notes beyond believability. A main component of
the band's sound, Shankar's far-eastern violin, does seem ill placed at
times, and Goldberg's synth patches are outdated in some areas as well.
But, these issues actually endow the album with a bit of charm. The
veterans Smith and Saunders make for a very steady rhythm section. Lima
is more effective in concert than on this recording. Saxophonist David
Sanborn, a guest star on several McLaughlin albums, makes a more than
welcome guest appearance on the haunting “Unknown Dissident”.

The mix wasn't always successful. But on the whole, Electric Dreams offers some of the best composing and playing of McLaughlin's career and has been unfairly overlooked.

dig on this if you haven't heard it. while reading seattle's stranger interview w/ avant drummer Joe Gallivan, they discussed an unknown avant fusion 70's classic he was on w/ organist Larry Young and (supposed) inventor of synth guitar Nicolas. found no signs of web posts, so this is converted from youtube w/ allmusic writeup "Love Cry Want" http://www116.zippyshare.com/v/6AjmcLwz/file.html